Trust in Mandarins and a Cold Night
by flakescaro
Summary: Yuuri Katsuki is rendered clueless about the world of college studies, at least until a certain blue-eyed Russian shows up with promises to be his tutor in the refuge of his dorm. Yuuri isn't too convinced, but he trusts in the mandarins and cold night to get him from A to B. However, Viktor has a very different night planned, a night where they finally come together.


The only sound apparent in the library was the tapping of a pencil against a notebook and the constant ticking of a clock, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. Yuuri's lip curled as he scrunched up yet another page of physics equations and threw it pitifully at the bin, missing it entirely. His back slid down the chair and his sneakers shifted across the carpet as he idly eyed the lone ball of paper metres away from where it was supposed to be. He had taken salvage in the library in hopes that the silence could somehow help him on his way to understanding at least a line of physics. But both half a wasted day and notebook later, he was still where he had left off- failing physics and alone in the stale and bleak library on campus. It emitted a strange smell that reminded him too much of mildew, which didn't exactly help his line of thinking. He brushed the raven bangs off his forehead and re-adjusted his thick brimmed glasses, his nose pointed at the cracked ceiling, ignoring the daunting size of content he had to somehow learn by next week. He swore at himself.

Soft carpeted footsteps followed by the rustling of paper filled the silence and a familiar thick voice spoke abruptly, Yuri stiffening at the suddenness of the noise.

"I'm surprised you're having trouble with physics of all things" Viktor laughed, his cerulean eyes reading over the almost-illegible scribble on the crumpled paper in his hand. Ever since Yuuri had started helping Viktor out with his English projects, they were constantly bumping into each other. He started wondering if it was always coincidental.

Yuuri's face flushed in annoyance as he glanced at him, letting out a harsh breath.

"Yeah well you shouldn't be, not once have I gotten a decent grade in that class" he grumbled.

Viktor raised a silver eyebrow at that and sauntered over to the lone table Yuuri was sitting at.

"Then if you would, please explain why I'm always coming to you for help with my classes?" Viktor teased, pointing at the very frustrated Yuuri Katsuki. Yuuri narrowed his gaze at Viktor's index finger and slunk his head down onto his open notebook with a soft thud, yet another harsh breath escaping from him.

"English is different Viktor, that's a walk in a park compared to physics" he groaned against the bare page. Viktor chuckled and shook his head placing Yuuri's crumpled page of rejected equations next to the boy's shaggy head, the ebony locks tickling his knuckles as he drew his hand back to his side.

"It's not that hard, it's basically like algebra, right? Just science instead" Viktor declared brightly, his finger coming to rest on his chin in thought.

"That made absolutely no sense" Yuuri's words were muffled against the page, fingers combing roughly through his hair in habit when he was stressed.

"Sure, it does" Viktor was met with another sigh from Yuuri. A vague pause settled between the two before Viktor spoke again, a suggestive smile gracing his features "You know what you need? A tutor"

Yuuri's head abruptly rose from the table and he straitened his glasses along the bridge of his nose. He squinted at the Russian, catching Viktor's smile and crossed his arms "You can't tutor me, you only know the basics we learned in high school" Yuuri saw the smile in Viktor's eyes soften.

Viktor shrugged absent mindedly "You don't know that"

"And besides I never caught you as the science type" Yuuri squinted at him even harder.

"Neither did I" Viktor replied nonchalantly, causing Yuuri to roll his eyes. He sighed.

"Alright, where to then? Because I can't stand this place" Yuuri asked standing from his chair, stacking books into his arms. Viktor's eyebrows furrowed at the question.

"But isn't a library the best place to study?" he asked.

"Nope. I don't know what it is, but something about this library makes me lose focus", Yuuri stated glancing around the dreary setup, he sniffed the air and coughed at the familiar odour. "It's the smell"

Viktor sniffed the air hesitantly and nodded in agreement, contemplating something. He stilled for a moment and hesitantly grasped Yuuri's forearm, his breath came in short. A blush crept up Viktor's neck "Come to my dorm?" he asked curtly "I have mandarins" he added.

"Mandarins?" Yuuri quickly masked the blush of his own and scrunched his face in confusion

"I read somewhere they boost alertness and concentration" Viktor supplied, licking his lips.

"I guess we can test that theory" Yuuri laughed and Viktor's eyes lit up as he smiled again, beginning to walk alongside Yuuri.

As they entered the corridor, the Russian linked their arms and scooped the pile books from Yuuri's loose hold. He grunted in protest and attempted to snatch them back but, Viktor hugged them tightly to his side and veered their linked arms toward his back so Yuuri lingered behind and the books were well from his reach.

"I am capable of carrying my own things thank you" a flustered Yuuri called from behind him, Viktor smirked and pulled Yuuri back to his side, unlinked their arms and slung his around the boy's shoulder securely, Yuuri fighting against his hold.

"Quit being so stubborn" Viktor teased, squeezing Yuuri's shoulder. He didn't expect to feel Yuuri stop resisting against his arm, sigh in defeat and relax against the touch. He didn't expect the flush of his cheeks as Yuuri timidly wrapped an arm around the small of his back, he stiffened under the touch. Silence followed as their footsteps echoed against the empty halls alongside the faint flurry of snow that could be heard from outside. Yuuri tensed.

"It's snowing? Since when was it snowing?" he had been too preoccupied with study to notice the sudden weather change.

Viktor tittered as if this was common knowledge, "Since it hit around lunchtime" he then looked at Yuuri questioningly, "How long were you in that library?"

"Around about the whole day" Yuuri's brown eyes rolled, "Never again"

Viktor's lips upturned "Well hopefully my dorm will be a better study location", they were slowly approaching the said dorm, Victor steering Yuuri down a different part of the corridor.

"I'm sure the library study experience isn't hard to top" Yuuri joked as Victor's arm disappeared from his shoulder to search for his key, the two coming to a stop. With a bit of fumbling, the door clicked open and the pair were met with the icy air of the unoccupied dorm.

"Damn it Chris" Viktor seethed under his breath as he laid Yuuri's books down on the desk situated near the door, walking into the small, frigid room. Yuuri wrapped his arms around himself, pink colouring his cheeks from the searing cold and followed Viktor in, softly kicking the door closed behind him. He could see Viktor's breath fogging against the dim glow of the moonlight that spilled through the window as Viktor knelt. His hands were fumbling around a heater hurriedly with his eyebrows knitted in frustration.

"It's not turning on" he sighed as his fingers combed through the silver hair in front of his eyes, they paused for a moment, "I guess we can study under the covers?" he asked gesturing to one of the beds, which Yuuri assumed was his. The flush spread from Yuuri's cheeks to his ears.

"O-okay sure" he stuttered, pressing his lips into a thin line and situating himself on top of the quilted covers awkwardly, Viktor seemingly oblivious to his embarrassment wandered away. A few minutes had passed before Viktor came back to the foot of the bed with his arms filled with countless books and orange fruit.

"Can't forget the mandarins" he laughed as he kicked off his shoes, almost stumbling in the process. Yuuri copied as Viktor dropped the items in his arms onto the bed and climbed under the covers. He picked up a mandarin gingerly as he saw Viktor worm his way under and stop when he reached the end of the covers, only his head popped out. His hair stuck out in all different directions which made Yuuri giggle into his hand, Viktor giving him a goofy grin in return. Viktor pulled the covers back, innching Yuuri forward and swiped them from underneath him, pulling them back over him in the same move. They were both cocooned together then, the thick sheets catching their body heat and warming the two up quickly. Viktor rested on his elbow as he looked at Yuuri thoughtfully, hand coming out from under the sheets to ruffle his hair, Yuuri grunted in dismay.

"There, now we're matching" Viktor grinned playfully. Yuuri swatted Viktor's hand away from ruffling his hair a second time.

"Are we going to keep playing around or are we gonna put these books to some good use?" Yuuri asked seriously.

"And mandarins" Viktor corrected. Yuuri couldn't stop the smile from coming.

"And the mandarins"

"Hey, as your tutor I want you in the best mindset" he declared jokingly, "Mandarins will guarantee that", his fingers felt for a mandarin and found the one Yuuri was holding under the covers. Viktor eyed him mischievously and snatched it from his grasp, peeling back the waxy skin and discarding of it on the window sill.

"I was going to eat that" Yuuri protested and Viktor rolled his eyes playfully, breaking off part of the fruit and plopping it into Yuuri's mouth before he could continue to speak. Yuuri's whole face tinted red and Viktor laughed as he chewed on his slice. Viktor reached behind them to grab a book, the sheets spilling down his back, shivering as he placed one back down in front of them, flicking to a random page. His eyes widened as they glossed over the equations. He quickly popped another few mandarin slices into Yuuri's mouth and the boy started chewing tentatively, giving Viktor a questioning look.

"You're going to need those, it's like a whole other language" Viktor said perplexed, scratching the back of his head, "Why is there a square root sign and what does that even stand for? Are those triangles?" he picked the book up and bought it closer to his face, squinting at it. Yuuri swallowed his mouthful of mandarin and bought the covers back up over Viktor's broad shoulders.

"I knew you were lying" he chuckled.

"I was not" Viktor defended, "I apply some physics to my ice skating, just didn't realise working it out was so hard"

Yuuri's amused smile fell into a look of curiosity "You do ice skating?"

Viktor smiled wryly as he set the book back face down onto the mattress, "Did. As a kid, I used to use physics as a guide to make mastering jumps easier, I considered pursuing it as a career for a long time"

Yuuri looked at him stunned, "Why didn't you?"

"Well that was up until we moved and I was enrolled into boarding school" he paused "I never got the chance to actually compete, my dad insisted I was dreaming too much and I believed him" a sigh escaped his lips and his eyes suddenly seemed sad, "I always think about where I'd be now if I hadn't"

This was the first time Yuuri had truly seen Viktor upset, his hand ran up and down Viktor's back in a comforting gesture, "I'm sure you were better at it than I was, I was always stuffing up in some way, grace was never my thing", he laughed "I did love it though" Viktor laughed along with him briefly, but then gave him an earnest look.

"Why did you just give it up like that if you loved it so much?" Yuuri's hand stilled on Viktor's back at the question.

Yuuri thought over his answer and then spoke carefully, "I guess, I was left unsatisfied because I never improved. I lacked confidence and my mistakes held me back"

Viktor frowned tonguing the mandarin slice against the inside of his cheek, chewing it slowly "You never struck me as underconfident"

"You'd be surprised" Yuuri laughed beginning to feel self-conscious. Viktor stared at him keenly for a while, his lips parted. He slowly reached out to brush Yuuri's inky hair out of his eyes

"You never fail to surprise me" he whispered, cupping Yuuri's cheek with his palm softly.

The chequered blankets they were tangled under began to feel suffocating and Yuuri's breath came in short, he watched Viktor close his eyes and exhale through his nose. His face slowly inched toward Yuuri's as his calloused thumb ran over the boy's chin. Yuuri's fingers skimmed the patch of bare skin above the hem of the Russian's grey sweater, waiting. When he felt Viktor's lips sweetly brush against the corner of his mouth, impatiently he pressed his lips back. He could faintly taste the tang of citrus on them. Viktor wrapped his arms around the boy's shoulders and tangled fingers tightly into his hair, kissing him back with bruising force. Yuuri was the first to pull back, a flush spread all the way to his ears, feeling warm.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that" Viktor muttered, his thumbs drawing circles over the thick material of Yuuri's shirt. Yuuri smiled up at him, blearily nuzzling Viktor's chest, snuggling into the warmth of his body heat to fight the icy night air. Viktor looped his arms around Yuuri's torso and buried the tip of his nose into his hair. A comfortable silence fell between them as they both listened to the snow continuing to fall outside and the steady sound of each other's breath.

"Even though we learned nothing, you were right, this is so much better than the library" Yuuri yawned from his place against Viktor, breaking the silence. Viktor's heart skipped a beat, a warm feeling spilling in his chest.

"I'm glad" Yuuri could hear the smile in his voice as he drifted off in Viktor's arms. Not soon after, Viktor followed, quietly noting he should use cold weather and mandarins as an ice breaker more often.


End file.
